Caltrans is urging Los Angeles residents to avoid the 80-hour closure zone of the 405 Freeway in West LA this Presidents’ Day weekend, Feb. 14-18, to avoid sitting in lengthy delays.
How lengthy? That depends on how many motorists heed the advice from Caltrans.
During Carmageddon I, the complete closure of the I-405 in July 2011, Los Angeles County motorists heeded warning from Caltrans and avoided the I-405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass in historic numbers.
This effort resulted in an almost 65 percent diversion of traffic when compared to the previous weekend.
For the upcoming 80-hour closure, Caltrans asks for the same 65 percent diversion.
“If we can only achieve, say, a 50 percent reduction, those delays grow,” Caltrans said in a statement. “That is because only the four and five lanes (lanes are counted from the left to the right) of the freeway will be open during daytime and none will be open during nighttime.”
The weekend closure begins at 7 pm Friday and is expected to last until 6 am Tuesday.
The closure includes the northbound stretch of the 405 from Getty Center Drive on the south to Ventura Boulevard on the north.
For more information, visit www.metro.net/projects/i-405.
